Page 3274 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 18 August 2009
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During 1998 a series of informed discussions occurred with transport industry representatives, including on-site visits to various loading operations, which led to the development of a draft policy paper entitled Penalties for gross overloads (severe risk overloads), which set out a penalty framework and draft legislative provision for severe risk overloading.
In 1999 the NRTC followed up with another draft policy proposal entitled Compliance and enforcement: mass, dimension and load restraint, which was circulated nationally for two months, during which time workshops were conducted to promote discussion. This consultation phase resulted in the development of the draft policy proposal entitled Compliance and enforcement: mass, dimension and load restraint, together with a regulatory impact statement for consideration by stakeholders. By the year 2000, following comments received, the NRTC refined the proposal, which the Australian transport ministers supported in principle.
In 2002 the national model, the Road Transport (Compliance and Enforcement) Bill, was released for public comment. The NRTC conducted further information sessions for government and industry representatives and held a special briefing for key stakeholders and those with specific concerns. On 3 November 2003, the national model bill was approved by the Australian Transport Council for implementation nationally.
Mr Speaker, you can see from this chronology of events that the national heavy vehicles provisions are soundly based, having been thoroughly evaluated by the key stakeholders with an interest in the transport of goods by roads. The national model provisions were not drafted as template legislation as it was recognised that this national regulatory framework would need to be accommodated within state and territory legislative and legal policy frameworks.
Given this, some aspects of the national model scheme were classified as desirable rather than essential for nationally consistent outcomes. Whilst the desirable elements were included in the national model to provide a best practice legislative compliance and enforcement scheme, jurisdictions were free to adopt only those elements that can be accommodated within their criminal law and human rights policy framework. The ACT Road Transport (Mass, Dimensions and Loading) Bill 2009 has been drafted to achieve such an outcome.
New South Wales and Victoria implemented the model legislation in 2005. South Australia introduced the legislation in 2007 and Queensland in 2008. I understand that Western Australia will soon introduce these heavy vehicle laws. The transport industry will tell you that one way to improve efficiency of their operations is to have consistent road transport laws across the nation. The passage through the Assembly today of the Road Transport (Mass, Dimensions and Loading) Bill 2009 will provide a step closer in achieving that outcome. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage) (5.40), in
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